TATHLEETH – People of Tathleeth governorate in the southern Asir province are constantly worried for the safety of their children who study in Bisha, more than 130 kilometers away. Many teachers from Bisha, including female teachers, also cross the long distance to work in schools in Tathleeth and neighboring townships and villages. "We are anxious about the safety of our college-going children and we will not have any peace of mind until they return home from Bisha. The 130-km commute between university and home is a daily issue our children face throughout the year," said Manahi Al-Qahtani, a concerned parent, while speaking to Okaz/Saudi Gazette. He said a number of fatal accidents have occurred on Bisha-Tathleeth road involving students and teachers. Falling asleep at the wheel, the use of old vehicles that are not property maintained and overcrowded buses are some of the reasons for the accidents. Meanwhile, many people have left Tathleeth and moved to other cities due to a lack of basic services, including higher education facilities and mobile phone coverage. At the same time, residents of the surrounding towns and villages have migrated to Tathleeth in search of better facilities and services. "I will be anxiously waiting all day for the return of my daughter from university," Al-Qahtani said. "Her journey begins before the dawn prayer and ends after Asr. She travels the long distance in a big bus with other students. The children suffer a lot because there are no colleges in Tathleeth," he said. "Parents with college-going children in Tathleeth are left with two choices: either purchase an apartment in Bisha and move there or force the children travel the long distance to Bisha in buses. Both options are bitter," Al-Qahtani added. Mohammed Al-Musradi highlighted the danger posed by the long-distance travel. "I have seen girls gathering in a specific place before dawn to catch the university bus. The bus is old and could break down any time stranding the children anywhere on route," he said. "Parents remain worried about their daughters' safety and pray they don't hear any bad news until the girls return home," Al-Musradi added. The condition of female teachers who travel from Bisha to Tathleeth is more pathetic as most of them travel taking their small kids with them. "Some of them are even pregnant. They travel in private vehicles or minibuses. Some drivers remove seats in the bus to increase space and accommodate more passengers," said one resident. Haya Al-Maawi, a teacher from Bisha, said she starts the journey with her colleagues before the dawn prayer to reach Tathleeth. She leaves her children with relatives at home. "We travel in a minibus and the driver is an elderly man who is diabetic and the road is quite narrow," she said. She urged the Education Ministry to look into the case of female teachers working in far off schools sympathetically and appoint them in schools close to their native places. "The ministry should fix a specific period for a female teacher to serve at location far away from her home town. After completing that period she should be allowed to teach in schools close to her native town," said Al-Maawi. Kuhailan Al-Saad spoke about the poor telecom services in Tathleeth. "People have to climb on mountaintops to get mobile phone coverage and make phone calls," he told Okaz/Saudi Gazette. Abdul Aziz Al-Aatifi urged the telecom companies to improve their services to customers in the region.
